Netanyahu says Israel is taking defensive and offensive action against Iran

(Patria) - Israel prepared on Thursday for the possibility of retaliation after suspicion that it killed Iranian generals in Damascus this week, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country would inflict damage on "those who harm us or plan to harm us," Reuters reported.

His comments came after the Israeli armed forces announced they were suspending leave for all combat units, a day after they said they were mobilizing more soldiers for air defense units.

The possibility of Iran retaliating for a suspected Israeli airstrike on Monday on the Iranian embassy complex in Damascus has raised the specter of a wider war, although two Iranian sources said Tehran's response would be calibrated to avoid escalation.

"For years, Iran has been acting against us, both directly and through its proxies. So, Israel is acting against Iran and its proxies, defensively and offensively," Netanyahu said at the start of a security cabinet meeting late on Thursday.

"We will know how to defend ourselves, and we will act according to the simple principle: whoever harms us or plans to harm us, we will harm them," he said.

The White House said US President Joe Biden spoke with Netanyahu and they discussed Iran's threats. Biden made it clear that the United States strongly supports Israel in confronting this threat, Washington said.